Happy New Year!

We had a doctors appointment today and everything looks great! I am 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced! Now we are just waiting on baby caleb to come out! Here are a few pics of me at 38 weeks pregnant...

Thankful for Good Friends!

Me and Matt just returned home from having dinner with Zac and Leah!! Leah is in town to apartment hunt with Zac because they are getting married in 4 short months! yay! We went to Rafferty's...which was delicious!! It was nice to spend time with the two of them, and we cant wait until they move to Louisville, and we can hang out more! They also bought Caleb the cutest little onesie, hat and booties!! Here are some pics from tonight...

It's Christmas Time!

This is me and matt's second Christmas together, but first to not be surrounded by family! So far its been great--even though matt had to work half a day today. While Matt was at work, I went to the doctor for my 37 week appointment. It went great. I was a little bit more dilated, but not much-my blood pressure looked good, his heartbeat was nice and strong, and he was measuring right on track! After the appointment I cleaned and waited around for Matt to get home!!
Although Christmas isn't technically until tomorrow, me and Matt decided to open our big gifts for each other on Monday!! It was so fun! I got Matt a game system, which was a total surprise to him--and he LOVED it!! And he got me a camera! yay! So now I can take lots and lots of pictures and share them with everyone!! We also decided to start our own family tradition and open all of our presents on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas day. The reason my wonderful husband came up with this idea is because we want Christmas day to be about celebrating the birth of Jesus, and not about opening christmas presents! So tonight, after a great dinner at Dr. Cummins house, we came home and opened the rest of our christmas presents. Some things that we got--Mer: lotion, movies, pj's, a new book, a cornhuskers shirt and a nice back rub thing! Matt: a nebraska sweatshirt, some clothes, a beard trimmer thing, books, and a nebraska hat! Caleb: lots of little nebraska clothes, some other very cute outfits, a cart protecter, and a little photo album! We had fun opening the gifts and are now ready to hang out and fall asleep to a movie--possibly Kung Fu Panda! We hope you all have a great Christmas tomorrow! We love you and miss you all a lot!
Here are a few pictures!



More to come later...

36 Weeks, 5 Days!

I had another doctors appointment today! Everything looks great! I gained 2lbs, my belly is measuring perfect, Caleb's heartbeat sounded great, and some test they took last week came back negative--which was great news!! I had an exam and Dr. Nusz told me that I am 1-2cm dilated. This is a little nerve-wrecking to me because im not ready for him to come yet! She said this means he could come tomorrow, or he could come in 3 weeks! On Sunday ill be 37 weeks, which is full term--so I would feel more comfortable if he at least waited until then! I just pray that whenever he decides to come out, that he's healthy:)
Last night I decided to bake my doctors office some cupcakes! I think they turned out pretty good!! Here is a picture of my masterpiece(I know youre all jealous) Just kidding! It was easy--and I had a lot of fun making it!
I'll keep you updated on when he's coming--Love you all!

Here's what Caleb is up to in there:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.)

35 Weeks, 5 Days--Growing at a Rapid Pace!

Today I had the first of my weekly appointments! I will go in every week now until baby Caleb arrives!! This means his time to shine is drawing near--quickly! The appointment went great! My blood pressure was still a bit high, so shes keeping me at 25-30 hrs a week of work--and the rest is to be spent resting! I measured perfect for 35 weeks, his heartbeat was strong, and he was still in the right position! I am not dilated at all--so she thinks that Caleb will come right around his due date(hopefully)!
We've slowly been preparing for his arrival, with our last walmart orders of sheets and changing pad covers on their way!! We've stocked up a little bit on diapers, but didnt want to get too many, since we arent sure how big or small he's going to be! I also packed his bag for the hospital, but have yet to pack mine! I went to the store and purchased some items that I was told I should have, but still have not put them all together! I keep thinking I have all this time, but really--it's less than a month away! Sleeping has become increasingly difficult as I continue to get bigger--and my energy is slowly decreasing-- I find myself getting into bed earlier and earlier each night!!! Matt is doing great-he cooked us breakfast dinner last night, which was delicious! He loves his job at the bank--and is almost done with his first semester at Liberty!! We will register soon for next semester!! We're hoping that he will be done with classes and have his degree by next December. We are so excited to start applying to ministry positions, and see where the Lord leads us! He has also picked up an extra-curricular activity...basketball, which he is thoroughly enjoying!!
I'm not sure when I'll be back to blog--maybe after my next appointment on the 19th(thats Ashley's birthday, by the way)!!
We love all of you sooo much--thank you for being a part of our lives and checking in with how we're doing:) We hope this has helped all of you stay up-to-date with our lives! Here's some pics of the belly, and an idea of what Caleb is doing in there:)

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Update

We had a doctors appointment today and everything looked great! I gained 2 more lbs, my blood pressure was 120/68, and I measured perfect for 34 weeks! Praise the Lord! I'm still on half days bed rest until our appointment next friday, but we were just happy to hear that Me and Caleb were both healthy:)

34 Weeks!

Well...it's been an interesting past couple of weeks! I had a doctors appointment last Monday and found out that I have high blood pressure...so they put me on half days bed rest, which isnt very fun! They also did a bunch of blood work and tested my urine a lot, but there was no sign of escaping protein, so I'm clear of what they call preeclampsia! I go tomorrow for another doctors appointment--so we're hoping to hear that me and Caleb are healthy and doing well!
We both had a great thanksgiving, although it was spent apart--I was in Pittsburgh, and Matt had to stay here and work:( It was nice to see all of my family, and just relax for a couple of days! Matt spent Thanksgiving with the Fitzgibbon family, and of course he enjoyed all of the delicious food!!
Yesterday was our one year anniversary! I was greeted on Saturday with a beautiful heart necklace, and received flowers at work! We also took advantage of our Points at national city by getting a giftcard to Outback, and were able to treat ourselves to a nice anniversary dinner! (delicious)
We received Calebs glider on Saturday (thanks Al and Marie) and put it together!! It looks great in the room and is very comfy! We were also able to purchase a lot of necessary items at Babies R Us and Walmart with our many giftcards that we received from both showers! Thanks everyone :) Now all we have to do is stock up on diapers:)
We're getting pretty anxious about Calebs arrival!!!--and can't wait for everyone to meet him! Here's whats going on with Caleb, and here are a few pictures!! Love you all

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which he'll need to regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.